Hamas has stored and fired rockets from within densely-populated civilian areas, making Israeli attempts to stop them without causing collateral damage virtually impossible.

To compound the problem, Hamas has openly encouraged civilians to act as human shields, glorifying their actions as heroism. Misfired rockets by Islamists falling on Gaza's citizens are common, as the IDF's rocket coverage has consistently shown, but are skewed to blame Israel for alleged attacks on civilian centers.

Terrorists have also used hospitals and schools as command centers and military bases.